The present invention relates to a die (dice) used with board games, and the manufacturing method thereof, and further relates to a mold used for manufacturing the die.
Various types of board games have long been enjoyed, such as shogi, go, dominoes, Othello, and so forth. Among such board games, there are many games wherein dice are cast, and the results the dice roll are reflected in the subsequent game, such as Parcheesi. In such board game using dice, the rolling results of the dice greatly affects winning or losing the game.
On the other hand, recently, there are comic books portraying a fictional entertainment world, which describe a fictional board game called Dragon Dice & Dungeons (hereafter abbreviated to “DDD”). In the DDD, characters battle with each other in the comics. The DDD is at first specified by using multiple dice having markings different from those of standard dice. Each die is effective to cause effects and rolling results of the dice. In addition, the DDD is also specified by opening each of the dice in a two-dimensional manner on the board. In the case of this DDD, opening the dice two-dimensionally determines routes and encampments according to the two-dimensional polygonal form of the opened dice. That is to say, with DDD, not only the rolling results of the dice are used in the game, but also the dice are also used for determining routes and encampments by the opened dice. Further, with a fictional world described by the comic, monsters appear from the opened die on the board according to individual dice and battle with the other monster or monsters virtually.
However, there are many problems in realizing such a fictional board game described in the comics as an actual board game. For example, in the event that the above-described DDD is to be played by actual players, dice which can be two-dimensionally opened, i.e., opened and closed, by the players, are necessary, but conventionally there has never been a proposal made of dice capable of being opened out or opened and closed, and what configuration would allow this to be realized cannot be guessed from the comics. Also, the material of a die capable of being opened, the die configuration necessary for opening, and so forth, cannot be guessed. Further, there are problems, such as placing monsters or the like within dice capable of being opened would make the dice too large, and further, the monsters in the dice would throw the center of gravity of the dice off-center and change the probability of what the cast dice show, so this is not realistic.